Where to buy in Las Vegas?

[quote author="irvine_home_owner" date=1249612168][quote author="usctrojanman29" date=1248865762][quote author="Geotpf" date=1248841771][quote author="usctrojanman29" date=1248828958]Unfortunately, I know someone who drank the kool-aid...my cousin and her husband. The bought a condotel unit over at the Trump Towers. They had to plunk down 20% as their deposit but can't close on the unit because no lender will finance them unless they put 40%+ down. The Trump Towers sold out in a matter of a month but to-date only about 30% of the units closed. They are caught between a rock and a hard place...either walk away from the 20% deposit ($120k+) or pony up another 20% and be cash flow negative each month and basically be down 30% from their contract price. I'm upside down on my 4plex in Vegas but at least it is generating positive cash flow before the tax benefit.</blockquote>


Wow, that sucks. Have they really been in this limbo for over a year (looks like Trump Hotel Las Vegas opened March 31st, 2008)? There's no recourse for them getting their deposit back?</blockquote>
Yeah, I think they were scheduled to close in April or May of 2008 but couldn't due to the issue of getting a loan. There is a class action lawsuit concerning the refund of those deposits but I'm not sure if they are involved...kinda a touchy subject.</blockquote>
Having just been there recently... it's interesting that Trump Tower is the cheapest of the 5-star hotels. They were charging $200 per night weekend rate.</blockquote>
Yeah, it's definitely a nice place and I'd probably stay there if my dad didnt own a home out in the suburbs out there (btw, he's got a 3-car car garage...I'll snap a picture for you of the home this weekend). The problem that my counsin and her husband had was they believed the hype and didn't crunch the numbers to analyze the investment. He was trying to use an average rental rate of $300+/night along with occupancy of 95% (which were the peak figures during the bubble days). Even at those lofty numbers, the investment would still be slightly cash flow negative. When I pulled in some more realistic numbers like $150/night and 75% occupancy the numbers looked SUPER FUGLY and indicated that the property was 50%+ overpriced. Well, my analysis fell on deaf ears. I bought a 4plex out in Vegas which I'm underwater on but at least I'm cash flow positive before taxes (when you take in the tax benefit it puts me that much more ahead cash flow wise) which allows me to wait out the downturn.
 
[quote author="usctrojanman29" date=1249612325][quote author="gepetoh" date=1249076005]Fellow Trojan, I see that some condo units in Lake Las Vegas are teetering in the $100K range. Records show they were on sale in the $400's 18 months ago. 1500+ sf, luxury amenities, sounds pretty good at that price despite nearly $400/mo in HOA. What's your opinions on these? I've been to Lake LV a few times and really like it there, so am thinking of possibly buying that for posterity. My thinking is it won't return much from the rental front, but at that price might be a decent investment that I could eventually retire into. Any thoughts? Fight On!</blockquote>
Not too familiar with the Lake Las Vegas sub-market but I can tell you from being there that it's a very, very nice area. Most of the properties over there are secondary/vacation homes. It's a very laidback kind of place where you don't have to deal with the crowds around the Strip. I think the area is a good one for folks looking to retire and live there for an extended period of time during the year, plus it's within a 20-30 minute drive of being back at the Airport or at the Strip. Let me know if you want to take a peek at some listings and/or closed comps both for sales and rental to see where things are at today. FIGHT ON!</blockquote>


I am heading out to Vegas in September and my wife and I are now seriously considering. I'll take you up on the comps offer if you'd be so kind. We would buy as our second home, but we'd have to buy as an investment property since it will be our 3rd property. Thanks. Fight On! Can't believe we're only 3rd/4th in the rankings!
 
[quote author="gepetoh" date=1250684315][quote author="usctrojanman29" date=1249612325][quote author="gepetoh" date=1249076005]Fellow Trojan, I see that some condo units in Lake Las Vegas are teetering in the $100K range. Records show they were on sale in the $400's 18 months ago. 1500+ sf, luxury amenities, sounds pretty good at that price despite nearly $400/mo in HOA. What's your opinions on these? I've been to Lake LV a few times and really like it there, so am thinking of possibly buying that for posterity. My thinking is it won't return much from the rental front, but at that price might be a decent investment that I could eventually retire into. Any thoughts? Fight On!</blockquote>
Not too familiar with the Lake Las Vegas sub-market but I can tell you from being there that it's a very, very nice area. Most of the properties over there are secondary/vacation homes. It's a very laidback kind of place where you don't have to deal with the crowds around the Strip. I think the area is a good one for folks looking to retire and live there for an extended period of time during the year, plus it's within a 20-30 minute drive of being back at the Airport or at the Strip. Let me know if you want to take a peek at some listings and/or closed comps both for sales and rental to see where things are at today. FIGHT ON!</blockquote>


I am heading out to Vegas in September and my wife and I are now seriously considering. I'll take you up on the comps offer if you'd be so kind. We would buy as our second home, but we'd have to buy as an investment property since it will be our 3rd property. Thanks. Fight On! Can't believe we're only 3rd/4th in the rankings!</blockquote>
Shot me a PM with your e-mail address and first name along with your search parameters and I'll send you both active listings and closed sale comps so you can get an idea of where the market is. Let me know when you guys will be out there and if I can make it then I'll have access to check out the active listings.



Don't get me started on the whole ranking...it's BS. Everyone is so in love with Timmy T at Florida and yeah he is a good QB and they have a great team but I think SC will pleasantly surprise some people this year. I would argue that we are deep at the QB position and the defense will be strong this year as that's where Pete's strength is. Can't wait for the season to start...the OSU game will be insane!
 
[quote author="usctrojanman29" date=1250685256]Shot me a PM with your e-mail address and first name along with your search parameters and I'll send you both active listings and closed sale comps so you can get an idea of where the market is. Let me know when you guys will be out there and if I can make it then I'll have access to check out the active listings.



Don't get me started on the whole ranking...it's BS. Everyone is so in love with Timmy T at Florida and yeah he is a good QB and they have a great team but I think SC will pleasantly surprise some people this year. I would argue that we are deep at the QB position and the defense will be strong this year as that's where Pete's strength is. Can't wait for the season to start...the OSU game will be insane!</blockquote>


My email is gepetohong@yahoo.com. Thanks for the help. I will be there the week of 9/7 for the whole week, but will only be available part of the time.



I think if Corp doesn't work out they'll throw Mustain in there. I think Corp will be pretty effective given that practically their entire offense is back. Since he's a low mistake QB, if he can get the ball down the field only decently I think we'll have an awesome offense. He might be the perfect guy to keep our offense on the field and keep the inexperienced defense off it. Coach knows what he's doing. Fight On!
 
[quote author="no_vaseline" date=1249603231]A juicy story from one of my customers, who can't pay me today becasue he's overdrawn.



Apparently he has a home in Vegas he purchased in 1999/2000 as an "investment". It's a SFR, on a golf course, maybe 2400 sf. He's renting it for $800. Or, I should say, was. The renter bounced last months check and this months check didn't even show up. It costs him $1500 a month.



If I had an "investment" that was costing me $700 a month, I would consider that a habit, as in an addiction. Somebody call NA or GA or something. Is there a "Negative Cash Flow Investor Anonomous" out there? Jeez.</blockquote>


Not sure where he bought, but if he's paying $1500/mo for a 2400 sf home he bought in 1999/2000, he's paying too much. He should probably be paying $1100-1200 total unless he bought in the NICER parts of the Lakes, Summerlin, or Seven Hills. I bought a 2500sf in 2001 with 5% down and was paying $1350 including HOA & escrow. He's got a 2nd on that.



Having said that, LV is a bad market for rental properties unless it's an apartment complex. They have so many multi-building complexes that it's pretty tough to rent out individual residences. Not impossible, but pretty tough. Still, $800 for a 2400sf is too low. A typical 2bd/2bt goes for $800-850 these days.
 
Anyone following the high rise condo market in LV? Prices finally are starting to look "reasonable" but I bet another 10%-20% will come off current prices.
 
[quote author="norcaljeff" date=1254825909]Anyone following the high rise condo market in LV? Prices finally are starting to look "reasonable" but I bet another 10%-20% will come off current prices.</blockquote>
I've been taking a peak here and there at them and you are probably right. The only bad part is that you still have to shell out around $500/mo for HOA fees. You might want to wait even after we hit bottom for the HOA mess to settle out.
 
Are you looking on or off strip? Is $500/mo pretty much the ave for HOAs there? In SD prices for condos are 3-7x and these Vegas condos are actually gorgeous inside instead of the plane Jane stuff in SD.
 
Did you guys see the Las Vegas RE story. Priceless.



<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/33310096">http://www.cnbc.com/id/33310096</a>
 
those who are interested in vegas condos, if it's for a 2nd home, i'm just curious how often/long you'd expect to be there? i ask because 5-star accomodations there are relatively dirt cheap. even if condos were free, you could easily spend every other wkend at the wynn for less than the cost of maintaining the property.
 
[quote author="acpme" date=1255586407]those who are interested in vegas condos, if it's for a 2nd home, i'm just curious how often/long you'd expect to be there? i ask because 5-star accomodations there are relatively dirt cheap. even if condos were free, you could easily spend every other wkend at the wynn for less than the cost of maintaining the property.</blockquote>


Many expect to "live" there 6 months + 1 day out of the year.
 
[quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1255587001][quote author="acpme" date=1255586407]those who are interested in vegas condos, if it's for a 2nd home, i'm just curious how often/long you'd expect to be there? i ask because 5-star accomodations there are relatively dirt cheap. even if condos were free, you could easily spend every other wkend at the wynn for less than the cost of maintaining the property.</blockquote>


Many expect to "live" there 6 months + 1 day out of the year.</blockquote>


Also, room rates aren't static. Getting a room in the Wynn or Encore during CES or MAGIC at the rates being charged today will be impossible. If you own the condo, you don't face being bumped out of your room reservation.
 
[quote author="acpme" date=1255586407]those who are interested in vegas condos, if it's for a 2nd home, i'm just curious how often/long you'd expect to be there? i ask because 5-star accomodations there are relatively dirt cheap. even if condos were free, you could easily spend every other wkend at the wynn for less than the cost of maintaining the property.</blockquote>
Good luck getting those great deals during convention periods and holiday weekends/new years. If you buy a newer property your cost of maintaining it are very low. Most homes in Vegas (including in the nice areas) are currently at or below rental parity. You could always buy a property with the intention of having it be your vacation/second home and then decide to have it be your rental. That way, all the trips you take out to Vegas can be deducted the costs of your trip (food, room, airfare/mileage, etc) against the property. ;)
 
i guess it depends on your interests. if you're just looking for a vacation home with warm weather, easy access from CA, tons of golf, and tons of entertainment, i can see why vegas is a good option. i love vegas but i like being on the strip so the idea of paying money to NOT be in the thick of things is unappealing.



the state residency i forgot about so i can see how that might make financial sense in the right situation. last trip i was sitting at a table with a guy who was retired and bought a condo at the turnberry place. nice bldg... and he was only about 40~45 yo so he probably retired early with a buttload of cash. i can only imagine what kind of pad he had... he said he pays $4k/mo in assoc fees!
 
acpme,



It changes when you live there. There is so much more to Las Vegas than just the Strip that when you get used to living there, you no longer want to spend time on the Strip itself.



For example, 25 minutes from the Stratosphere lies:
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[quote author="Nude" date=1255615150]acpme,



It changes when you live there. There is so much more to Las Vegas than just the Strip that when you get used to living there, you no longer want to spend time on the Strip itself.



For example, 25 minutes from the Stratosphere lies:</blockquote>
You are completely right. I lived in Vegas for 2 years out in Summerlin (the Vegas version of Irvine). You could go snowboarding at Mt. Charleston, golf almost anywhere, go to Lake Meade to fish/waterski, hiking at Red Rock, etc.
 
[quote author="acpme" date=1255610024]i guess it depends on your interests. if you're just looking for a vacation home with warm weather, easy access from CA, tons of golf, and tons of entertainment, i can see why vegas is a good option. i love vegas but i like being on the strip so the idea of paying money to NOT be in the thick of things is unappealing.



the state residency i forgot about so i can see how that might make financial sense in the right situation. last trip i was sitting at a table with a guy who was retired and bought a condo at the turnberry place. nice bldg... and he was only about 40~45 yo so he probably retired early with a buttload of cash. i can only imagine what kind of pad he had... he said he pays $4k/mo in assoc fees!</blockquote>
Nice areas like Summerlin and Anthem are like 15 minutes from the Strip so you can live in Irvine like areas in Vegas that are a hop, skip, and a jump away from the Strip. Unless he has like a two story unit that takes up the entire two floors, he isn't paying $4k in HOA. The HOA for most of those Turnberry towers for most of the regular units about $500/mo.
 
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